When Unity Eludes Us

I (Mang) grew up in Northeast India where the 100^th year of the arrival of Christianity will be commemorated in 2010. Preparations are already underway and I have heard much is to be anticipated in the grand celebration. However, my heart is saddened by the sad history that Christianity has left in its trail in my home state of Manipur. A hundred years ago, Christianity was introduced to my part of India in the form of denominationalism that further divided the ethnic groups. One denomination pioneered mission work with one tribe. Very soon, the ethnic clashes were enmeshed with religious affairs and each tribe’s armed group would be prayed over by pastors and elders in the church before they set off to the ethnic wars. While this would perhaps merit a great deal of discussion in mission issues such as worldview transformation and contextualization of the Gospel message, I would like to simply go back to the main proof of the impact of salvation in a people—love. The real impact of Christianity on any place is the extent of the love that the people experience. Sadly, this kind of love, the love that nurtures a spirit of unity, is not yet felt in my home place.

One of the most difficult things I am encountering in my present ministry is the fact that unity is quite elusive in Berea.* The believers, even the pastors and church leaders, are very eager to study the Word of God but not keen on working with Christians from other church groups or denominations. I find it quite frustrating that none of the key church leaders in this country have anything good to say about each other. This scenario makes our work more challenging and heavy in my heart. I have often shared with the Berean leaders my own people’s history of 100 years of Christianity with very little or no impact in the community. With brotherly love I warn them about the possibility of them treading that same path towards strife and enmity if they do not watch out.

Every time I visit Berea I am reminded of Christ’s admonition: You must have love for one another. This is how everyone will know that you are my followers (John 13:35, The International English Bible). Our work in this Buddhist nation is to train the pastors and church leaders, all of whom are leading house churches and practicing their faith under a restricted environment. We teach them what the Bible says about working together in order to fulfill God’s purposes for their country. But it takes more than just lectures. Unity is such a sensitive topic that our team has to think of creative ways to introduce biblical principles of working together. And I know that though we have been training these leaders for over 5 years, we have barely scratched the surface. We need the Spirit of the Lord to bring unity and open the hearts and minds of His people in order to bring glory to His name. My heart’s desire is to see God’s people in this small country united in heart, advancing His kingdom on earth. My prayer is for nothing of the sort of Christianity in my hometown to take root in Berea. Please remember us in your prayers. Pray that the Berean leaders and pastors will understand the essence of being members of one body—the Body of Christ. Pray that they will heed the warning and choose love and unity over envy and strife.

Thank you for your faithful partnership in training the believers in restricted nations.

*The name of places are withheld for security reasons.